Pro-choice supporters turn out to Nibroc Park to protest end of Roe v. Wade

JANIE SLAVEN, The Times-Tribune, Corbin, Ky.
·2 min read

Jul. 7—CORBIN — A small group of around 30 Corbin-area protestors spent last Saturday evening at Nibroc Park protesting the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision reversing the nearly 50-year-old Roe v. Wade — leaving abortion access up to individual states.

The pro-choice protest was organized by local resident Abbey Shackleford who told The Times that she wanted to hold an event in Corbin so that like-minded citizens could make their voices heard even if they were unable to travel to protests in larger communities.

"Sometimes people can't always make it to the bigger cities," Shackleford said. "They may be cautious to go because [the protests] may be more intense or their work schedules don't fit."

Similar events were planned throughout the region, including the cities of Somerset and Barbourville, centering around the Independence Day holiday weekend.

"In smaller, rural towns like this, I feel that representation matters," Shackleford continued. "If the town can see people gathered together for something like this, it puts a visual representation of the number of supporters opposed to just seeing things online. I know that we're just very online-driven these days but whenever you can actually see how many people come to support this movement, instead of just hearing about it, it puts a face on it."

Shackleford acknowledged that pro-choice supporters don't constitute the majority in this community but it's nevertheless important to show there are supporters here. Relatively new to activism, she had previously organized a Black Lives Matter event.

"This [the Roe reversal] started going on and we were like, 'Let's give our people a voice again,'" Shackleford said. "Let's get together and rally in support of what we believe in."

Those attending carried signs with slogans including "Mother by Choice/Mother for Choice," "Vasectomies Prevent Abortions," and Keep Your Laws Off My Body."

Kentucky is one of 13 states which had a "trigger law" passed in anticipation of the new Dobbs v. Jackson ruling to make abortion in the commonwealth illegal. The state's two abortion clinics have sued to prevent the ban from taking effect on the grounds that it violates the Kentucky Constitution. A final ruling has yet to be issued.